3/19/06 Entry on sandiego.com

Reality TV Never Looked Like This

The San Diego Latino Film Festival continues and La Sierra (2005) is a startling contribution from Colombia. This documentary, directed by Scott Dalton, is about the glamour of drugs, guns, and motorcycles in Medellin. It is also a rude awakening as to what constitutes reality in other parts of the world. Paramilitary gangs roam the streets and guns are a fact of everyday life. Like you would pick up your cell phone before going out, young adults in the poorer parts of Columbia pick up their guns. Extremely insightful (and an act of courage to film amidst such violence), La Sierra shows how corrosive facets of life define existence in Medellin. But, it also shows tenderness and a love for family life and religion that seems to be equally potent in Latin America. On the other hand, we also have our gang problems...

Cero y Van Cuatro (2005) is not a documentary, but the theme is related--crime and corruption in Mexico City. Four very talented Mexican directors, Carlos Carrera, Alejandro Gamboa, Fernando Sarinana, and Antonio Serrano are given the task of depicting a topic fraught with fear and pain--and inject humor into the mix. Using mostly the same cast and a storyline that weaves through all of the vignettes, these directors have created a masterful piece. It is a story with a drug bust, a kidnapping, a mob bent on lynching, and a restaurant robbery--with humor! As befits the stature of such great directors, the storylines are incredible and the production values would make anyone proud.

In a similar vein, Batalla en el Cielo (2005) is about crime and the human condition. But, this feature from Mexico was surrounded by controversy due to the explicit sex scenes. However, that's not what the movie is about. The camera handling has a voyeuristic feel to it as we are forced to observe but never participate. In fact, sometimes, the camera goes on journeys by itself. You, the viewer, have to find your own meaning as to motives and emotions (as the picture doesn't help very much in that regard). Carlos Reygadas directed this film.

Are all the films dark and about crime? Of course not. El Viento (2005) from Argentina is a meditative study of family and family secrets. Eduardo Mignona directed this slow but powerful Argentinian movie. A sheep farmer, Frank, travels to Buenos Aires in order to give the news of his daughter's death to his granddaghter. We learn about landscape and the contrast between city and rural life in this excellent film.

A typical Hollywood production, on the other hand, is The Virgin of Juarez (2005). It would occur to American producers to deal with such a horrible subject as the kidnapping and murders of nearly 400 women in Juarez and turn it into an entertainment piece--instead of just focusing attention on the fact. This is not a film worth supporting. It is too bad that good acting talent was wasted on this project. Mukul Khurana